Kicking Up The Dirt – Sprintcars Queensland Annual Awards Night

We have had a phenomenal 2021-2022 race season race fans and last night the drivers and crews, and their support networks, donned a different kind of suit and headed to the Hotel Grand Chancellor in Brisbane to celebrate the season that was and recognise the achievements of a season that will long be remembered.

Club President John Kelly opened proceedings before introducing the always brilliant Wade Aunger as our MC for the night. We love having Wade join us every year, his passion, knowledge and the way he commands the room only adds to what is always a magnificent celebration.

We could not do what we all do without sponsors, with our major series sponsors fittingly first to be recognised. Dave Horrell and East Coast Logistics again sponsored the local Series at Archerfield Speedway, while Bill Mann and Queensland Speedway Spares have provided invaluable support to the series, track and individual competitors.

Ken and Wendy McNamara from KRE, Ken and Kaye Thorne from Myla Graphics, Andrew Baumber from Petzyo, Brent Kratzmann from BK Trading, and Gary Kratzmann for his continued support of the 50/50 raffle (having bought $50 worth of tickets in the raffle on every night), were all thanked for their valued support. Without these incredible people the sport and our club would not be what they are.

Our Officials, crash crew and media were next up with Glenn Wilson, Dan Roberts, Joanne White and Clem Hoffmans receiving appreciate awards. Our officials and crash crew work absolutely tirelessly on race night, from organising starting grids and making sure the drivers are on track when they need to be, to taking care of them on track when things don’t quite go to plan. I for one am glad that people like Glenn, Dan and Clem are always there for our drivers after a crash, and I know the drivers are in the exceptionally capable hands, of some passionate, dedicated and remarkable humans. We are so lucky to have them all.

The Petzyo Development Series presentations started with recognising Nicholas O’Keefe on his hard-fought fourth place result, though as he was competing in Cairns he was unable to join us. Brad Keiler finished third, ending the season with 140 points while second placed Libby Ellis, who was also absent while competing in Cairns, finished with 155 points. Petzyo Development Series winner Dan Moes collected 248 points to be the clear winner, but had joined O’Keefe and Ellis competing in Cairns and was unable to attend last nights presentation.

The East Coast Logistics Series saw an impressive prize money pool of $56,685.46 to be distributed amongst the drivers, with $34619.00 of that raised by the remarkable efforts of Kirsty Kelly and Ellie Peacock in the selling of the 50/50 raffle tickets across the season. It is a tireless and often thankless task but both Kirsty and Ellie have done a tremendous job this season, and we thank them for all that they do.

The Right Price Exhausts B-Main Championship went to Mitch Gowland, for the fourth time in six years, while Luke Oldfield started his trophy haul by taking out the Right Price Exhausts Heat Race Points Championship.

James Matthews, Tarhlea Apelt, Kevin Britten and Trent Vardy all placed outside the top fifteen overall in the East Coast Logistics Series, with a record 22 series contenders entered this year and prize money for the top fifteen.

15th – Bryan Mann – 321 Points – Award Accepted by Bill Mann

14th – Mitch Gowland – 347 Points

13th – Ryan McNamara – 380 Points

12th – Allan Woods – 385 Points

11th – Darren Jensen – 481 Points

10th – Karl Hoffmans and Spanloc Racing – 505 Points

9th – Jy Corbet – 512 Points

8th – Tim Farrell – 519 Points

7th – Lachlan McHugh and East Coast Pipeline Racing – 530 Points – Award Accepted by Jack Thomas

6th – Brent Kratzmann – 532 Points

5th – Kevin Titman and Titman Motorsport – 544 Points

4th – Adam Butler – 580 Points

3rd – Ryan Newton – 585 Points

2nd – Aaron Kelly – 657 Points

1st – Luke Oldfield – 875 Points

We also had the honour of presenting three very deserving recipients with Honorary Life memberships, the trio joining Neville Sutherland, Robert Evans, Robert (Bob) Kelly, John Dean, Rick Hodges, Mark Wode, John Kelly and Lyn Turner to extend the list to eleven.

Kathy Kelly became the ninth Honorary Lifetime Member, her years of dedication to the sport at National, State and Local Levels. On a local and state levels Kathy has served as club secretary from 1992 to 1995, a committee member from 2013 to 2015, Treasurer from 2015 to 2018 and has been the Sprintcars Queensland Secretary since 2016. All in addition to her work on a National level and with Archerfield Speedway, Toowoomba Speedway and now Eastern Creek Speedway. Kathy Kelly is truly a remarkable woman, her passion and dedication to this sport, and our Club, is second to none. There are countless hours of hard work that often go unseen, many late nights, early mornings and long days doing everything she does behind the scenes so we can all go racing. Without a shadow of a doubt Kathy Kelly has had a MONUMENTAL influence on Sprintcar Racing in Queensland and across the country, and I can guarantee you that none of this would be what it is without Kathy Kelly.

Clem Hoffmans became the tenth Honorary Lifetime Member, having been involved as either Driver, Car Owner, Official or a member the committee for decades. Clem has been our Sprintcars Queensland Vice President since 2005, a Club Official, and has been our Treasurer since 2018. Clem’s contribution to the club over the last three or four decades is impossible to measure, always stepping up to help while simultaneously keeping his own family car on the track. Our club is better because of Clem’s many years of support and dedication.

Bill Mann is a man that to most in this sport needs no introduction, and his addition as the eleventh Honorary Lifetime Member of Sprintcars Queensland could not be more appropriate. Bill Mann loves Sprintcars, loves Speedway, and loves supporting the people in it who support his business. His passion is unwavering and again, Sprintcars Queensland, and Speedway in general, are all the better thanks to the steadfast support from Bill Mann.

We are all greatly indebted to so many incredible people and so very fortunate that we have a plethora of such deeply passionate supporters as part of our Club. We are all endlessly thankful for their contributions.

Our Club Awards followed, with Trent Vardy receiving the Encouragement Award. Taylor Prosser was awarded the Most Improved Driver Award, and will definitely be one to watch in the years ahead, while Crewman of the Year went to Mark Oldfield and all of Oldfield Motorsport. Jason King was awarded this year’s Wooden Spoon while the absent Ryan Newton was unsurprisingly this season’s Rookie of the Year. He will also be one to watch in the future.

The Wings award is always a hotly contested affair, and this year was no exception. Jy Corbet put in several strong nominations throughout the season, while several others also put their name in the running, however Luke Oldfield and Brent Kratzmann have had a strangle-hold on this award for the past few years, taking turns in taking it home, with the tradition continuing this year and Brent Kratzmann stepping up to take home the Wings Award for the 2021-2022 race season.

The Drivers Driver award, voted for on the night by the drivers present at the presentation diner, once again went to Luke Oldfield, making it back to back wins for Luke and the third time in six years that he has won this award, showing just how much respect he commands from his fellow competitors.

The Sprintcars Queensland Club Championship was again another closely contested battle that saw Jy Corbet finish sixth, Brent Kratzmann fifth and Karl Hoffmans fourth. Ryan Newton, in his rookie season, claimed third in the Club Championship, with Lachlan McHugh second (his award again accepted by Jack Thomas), with Luke Oldfield taking out the win.

There was a large number of raffle prizes distributed throughout the night, donated by Sprintcars Queensland, Boss Hoggs Steakhouse, BHR Fabrications, Queensland Speedway Spares, Ryan McNamara and Locked Down Apparel and Oldfield Motorsport.

Congratulations to all of our award winners, drivers, teams, crews, families, supporters, sponsors, volunteers and fans on another EXCEPTIONAL race season. We are truly fortunate to have this club, this sport, and all the amazing people in it. There really is nothing else quite like it and a true family sport, with multiple generations able to come together and some of the best extended ‘family’ on the planet. Here’s to next season and the chance to do it all again, however that may unfold. Until next time racers and race fans….

~ Joanne White - Sprintcars Queensland Media

Credit: Sprintcars Queensland

Click HERE for photos from the awards night